Try GOLD - Free
Circle of influence
THE WEEK India
|December 22, 2024
The circle of influence is not an isolated one. It is etched by myriads of experiences, relationships and learnings that we amass, helping us address tectonic shifts in life.
-
Last week, three Indian women-social activist Aruna Roy, funeral rites performer Pooja Sharma and wrestler-turned politician Vinesh Phogat-featured in the BBC's list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world. I was filled with a sense of pride and ruminated about my circle of influence.
After spending five years in Egypt, Nestlé decided to move me to the Philippines, one of its biggest operations in Asia. I was quite happy about the move-a peaceful country with steady operations.
It had been four months in the Philippines, and my wife and I finalised a house. On a Friday night, in 2015, I was at a friend's home for dinner in Manila when Wan Ling Martello, Nestlé's executive vice-president for Asia, Oceania and Africa, tried calling. But I didn't hear the phone ring, so she messaged me, "Call me back".
This story is from the December 22, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM THE WEEK India
THE WEEK India
Identity assertion is still largely Limited to political and social spaces
Normally, no—it’s definitely a later construct.
2 mins
November 09, 2025
THE WEEK India
Made to measure
Madhav Agasti's memoir, like the clothes he has stitched for actors and politicians, is a 'fitting' tribute to his life—simple yet powerful
4 mins
November 09, 2025
THE WEEK India
The bullshit detector
You don’t know how to use ChatGPT?” Ekya asked incredulously, her eyes wide as saucers. “Nana, everyone uses AI. I even got Waldo to help with some of my class assignments.”
3 mins
November 09, 2025
THE WEEK India
Rabindranath Tagore's legacy is lived, felt and practised in our daily lives
Rabindranath Tagore's legacy is lived, felt and practised in our daily lives
5 mins
November 09, 2025
THE WEEK India
What we have today is 'maha jungle raj'
What do you think is the biggest issue in this election?
1 mins
November 09, 2025
THE WEEK India
WHEN HEALER TURNED FIGHTER
A Padma Shri surgeon who spent 1,301 days in prison recalls his battle against the American justice system
6 mins
November 09, 2025
THE WEEK India
We will make sure no one from Bihar needs to migrate
AFTER WEEKS OF BACKROOM negotiations, the grand alliance announced Tejashwi Yadav, 35, as its chief ministerial candidate, making him the principal challenger in the Bihar assembly election. The RJD's star campaigner and inheritor of his father's social justice legacy, Tejashwi has broadened his appeal to include jobs and development—what he calls “economic justice”.
6 mins
November 09, 2025
THE WEEK India
When life gives you DDLJ
No creativity-enhancing pill in the market can do the trick as well as watching Hindi films without subtitles
2 mins
November 09, 2025
THE WEEK India
THE PAST IS PRESENT
From Ashoka to Jarasandha, ancient emperors and mythic heroes are being recast through caste lines
5 mins
November 09, 2025
THE WEEK India
The cortex
The cortex is the brain’s stage and its spotlight, a wrinkled sheet of grey matter where everything that makes us human performs. It is thin, standing only a few millimetres tall, and yet, it holds our language, laughter, memories, dreams, passwords, and grudges. Beneath it lies machinery; above it, personality. It's the surface that thinks. If the brain were Mumbai, the cortex would be South Bombay—dense, opinionated, elegant, and convinced it runs the place.
2 mins
November 09, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size